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cherry blossom

As promised I have returned with part two of things about trees in Japan, aka the Sakura season.

Today I visited the rather lovely, if not also very rural Kawazu ‘the land of sakura!’. The advertising is actually ‘it’s always beautiful’ but I think mine is better and since it’s not always beautiful (because after the blossom is gone you just have a load of naked trees and sad tourists) if you are going to tell a lie you might as well make it sound a little exciting.

That said, it really was beautiful today with most of the trees in full bloom and there is a recommended trail that starts at the sea and runs for about four kilometers alongside a river which is full of lovely lovely trees.

This is the beach. No there are no trees here, they are behind me. Sneaky trees.

This is the trail, in case you hadn’t guessed. But now the beach is behind me. Sneaky beach.
In addition to all this lovely nature you can also buy a range of sakura themed novelty items and foods. You can also buy a tree if you want to take one home with you to save on traveling next time, but to be honest I’d recommend just traveling as you would need to buy a lot of trees to really compete with Kawazu and your neighbours probably won’t be too pleased when your forest of cherry trees starts growing through their house.

There are of course other things to do and see too, as Kawazu is also home to one of the rare hot natural springs of Japan, and provides water for many onsen (public bath) and foot spas around the area. You can also find some interesting character statues along the way, including these two whom I have named Crazy Eyed Steve and Simon respectively.

If you do want to follow in the trail that I blazed behind thousands of other people each year, then you can get to Kawazu by train from Atami. Be careful though as there are two types of train and the fancy looking one is nearly twice the price (although also a fair bit faster). The standard train takes a little over an hour, but you get a nice costal view as you go. Also if you don’t want to spend too much on food, as the stalls can be a little pricy, then there is a Family Mart near the beach and a 7/11 by the station.
So even though it’s a little bit out of the way and for me costs about the same as a trip to Tokyo, I really would recommended it if you get the chance and have the time, it’s a very nice way to spend a day.

So it has been over half a year since I first moved to Japan and boy how does time fly!

Since I arrived in summer though it meant that I missed the cherry blossom, or sakura as it’s known in Japanese. As one of the most iconic things about Japan aside perhaps from sushi and schoolgirls I was a little bit sad about that. Fortunately, time has not yet ended which means like all things that follow a cycle, this wonderful season has returned!

This is possibly the most ‘Japan’ photo I have ever taken. The only way it could be more ‘Japan’ is if I had a schoolgirl holding some sushi, but that would be a bit weird and I don’t want to do that.

Anyway, as you can see it’s basically beautiful here and you should all check it out if you visit Japan around this time of year. One of the bonuses of living in Shizuoka is that we arguably get some of the best views this season, along with a much earlier and longer ‘in bloom’ season.

If you do find yourself here, then I would strongly recommend walking alongside any of the rivers in Fuji as they are lined with these amazing looking trees, and since the rivers go on for many miles you can spend most of the day enjoying the wonderful combination of water and cherry blossom.

A little further east, and then south of Atami you will also find some amazing costal areas which supposedly boast some of the best sakura sites in all of Japan. I will be confirming or denying this tomorrow (because my good readers need to know the facts, and not because I’m a sucker for nature walks) so watch this space for part 2 – the quest for more blossoms.